Iranian officials said they have identified the “Iran International agent” arrested on Thursday as Elham Afkari, the sister of famous Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari, who was executed two years ago, according to state news agency IRNA.
The London-based Iran International news channel has become one of the go-to sources for many Iranians seeking news about the country’s ongoing protests in the country.
The opposition broadcaster, which Iran’s information minister called a “terrorist” organization on Tuesday, has denied any links to Elham.
In a statement sent to CNN, the London-based broadcaster said Elham “is not an employee of Iran International, nor a partner or agent of the company.”
Her brother, Navid Afkari, was convicted of killing Hassan Torkman, a water company security officer, during a protest in Shiraz in 2018.
At first, Afkari confessed to the crime, but in court he retracted these words, claiming that he had been tortured into making a false confession.
“It should be noted that she [Elham Afkari] she is the sister of Navid Afkari, the killer of witness Torkman, an employee of the regional water supply company of Fars province,” IRNA reported.
“Secret services have been monitoring Elham Afkari’s activities for the past few years,” IRNA said, adding that “she was one of the main leaders in organizing recent riots.”
State media shared photos purportedly showing Elham’s arrest. The photos show a woman sitting in the back seat of a vehicle with the windows closed, a black blind covering her face.
Saeed Afkari, Elham and Navid’s brother, confirmed his sister’s arrest on Twitter on Thursday, saying Elham’s three-year-old daughter was also missing.
He later said that Elham was transferred to a section of Iran’s intelligence ministry and that his wife and sister’s daughter were released.
“Elham has been taken to the No. 100 section of the Ministry of Intelligence,” he tweeted.
Since Navid Afkari’s execution, his family has faced several court cases for participating in the 2018 protests.
Vahid Afkari, one of his brothers, remains in solitary confinement, according to the human rights group Iran Human Rights.
Founded in 2017, Iran International has been at the forefront of coverage of recent protests following the death of Mahsa Amini – a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was arrested by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.
However, the 24-hour news channel’s coverage of the protests has brought it under the control of the Iranian government.
This week, Iran International said two of its British-Iranian journalists working in the UK have been warned by police of a “credible” Iranian plot to kill them.
In a statement on Monday, the Farsi-language broadcaster said it was “shocked and deeply concerned” by the alleged death threats, while accusing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of engaging in a “significant and dangerous escalation” of “campaign” of Tehran. to intimidate Iranian journalists working abroad.”
“Two of our British-Iranian journalists have been informed in recent days of an increase in threats against them,” Iran International said in a statement.
“The Metropolitan Police have now formally notified both journalists that these threats represent an immediate, credible and significant risk to their lives and their families.”
Iran International did not name the journalists for security reasons.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 61 journalists have been arrested in Iran since Monday for reasons including covering protests, reporting on the deaths of protesters and taking photos of protests, according to a report by the group.
